Speaking to POLITICO’s Mike Allen at the Playbook Afternoon Snack event here, the former House speaker said the controversy surrounding Akin’s recent “legitimate rape” comments was a “good example of why the power structure in Washington sometimes ought to take a deep breath.”

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“Todd Akin made a mistake. He’s an honorable guy, he’s a sincere guy. He said something stupid. There was a firestorm,” Gingrich said.

Akin sparked controversy this month when he said in a TV interview that victims of “legitimate rape” rarely get pregnant. Since making the comments, members of Akin’s own party have called on him to drop out of the race to protect the GOP’s chances of winning a seat that is critical for the party’s chances of gaining a U.S. Senate majority.

In his interview with POLITICO on Thursday, Gingrich, who dropped out of the GOP race earlier this year, pointed to Joe Biden’s recent remarks in which the vice president charged that Republicans would put Americans back in “chains” — comments that critics said contained racial connotations.

“Nobody said he ought to get off the ticket. Nobody said he ought to drop out,” Gingrich said. “My party has an unfortunate tendency to rush to judgment against itself.”

Gingrich, whose longtime aide Rick Tyler joined Akin’s campaign, drew laughter from the audience when he sympathized with the Senate candidate by saying he himself has “over the years made a fool of myself.”